Cove Station Post Office & “Captain Bilderbook’s and John Schoolcraft’s Expidition from Holiday’s Cove to For Wheeling, 1777”

The Cove Station Post Office was erected in 1937. Similar to many other Works Progress Administration (WPA) post offices in West Virginia, this building is a simple one-story rectangular brick structure that prioritizes functionality over aesthetics. In the lobby is a mural by Charles Chapman titled, “Captain Bilderbook’s and John Schoolcraft’s Expedition from Holiday’s Cove to For Wheeling, 1777.” The historical event depicted is explained by text at the bottom of the piece which reads, “In 1777, John Schoolcraft notified Captain Bilderbook at Holiday’s Cove that the Wyandottes and Mingoes [Native American groups] were gathering for a raid on Wheeling. Together, they led a party of settlers to the rescue which under cover of a dense fog arrived at the fort in time to drive off the attack.”[1] Chapman’s rendering of this scene occurs before the battle, as the settlers travel to Fort Wheeling. The Cove Station Post Office was initially the postal base for Holiday’s (sometimes spelled Holliday’s) Cove. In 1947, Holiday’s Cove merged with Marland Heights and Weirton Heights to become the city of Weirton. The Weirton Post Office also possessed a New Deal work of art. Vincent Glinsky created a cast stone plate titled “Pony Express and Rural Delivery.” The work was unfortunately lost at some point after the Weirton Post Office merged with the Cove Station Post Office.

Cove Station Post Office Mural - Weirton WV, The Living New Deal. Accessed June 23rd 2021. https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/cove-station-post-office-mural-weirton-wv/.

Cove Station Post Office - Weirton WV, The Living New Deal. Accessed June 23rd 2021. https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/cove-station-post-office-weirton-wv/.

Lorance, Nancy. New Deal/WPA Art in Holidays Cove, West Virginia, WPA Murals. Accessed June 23rd 2021. http://wpamurals.org/holicove.htm.

Lorance, Nancy. New Deal/WPA Art in Weirton, West Virginia, WPA Murals. Accessed June 23rd 2021. http://wpamurals.org/weirton.htm.

Old Weirton Post Office, New Deal Art Registry. Accessed June 23rd 2021. https://newdealartregistry.org/map/OldWeirtonPostOffice/Weirton/WV/.

Park, Marlene. Markowitz, Gerald E. Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University Press, 1984.

Post Office (Former) Sculpture - Weirton WV, The Living New Deal. Accessed June 23rd 2021. https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/old-post-office-sculpture-weirton-wv/.

Post Office: Weirton (Cove), West Virginia 26026, Post Mark Collectors Club. Accessed June 23rd 2021. http://www.postmarks.org/pop/3600/3679.htm.

Weirton (Cove Station) Post Office, New Deal Art Registry. Accessed June 23rd 2021. https://newdealartregistry.org/map/WeirtonCoveStationPostOffice/Weirton/WV/#.